


Stressed

by obs3ss1ons



Category: Station 19 (TV)
Genre: Established Relationship, F/M, Jealousy, Secrets
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-20
Updated: 2018-12-20
Packaged: 2019-09-23 15:00:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,115
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17082524
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/obs3ss1ons/pseuds/obs3ss1ons
Summary: Vic has a new secret. Ripley thinks he knows what it is. But does he?





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Yes, this story is full of angst. I'm horrible at writing angst, so I hope it turned out well.

The calendar hanging on the wall swam in front of her. The dates blurred together. All she could see was a red X that looked a lot bigger than she remembered writing it. It wouldn't fit inside one of the squares, let alone just a tiny corner of one. She blinked. Okay, it was still barely seeable. Not big enough for the people she lived with part-time to notice and ask about it. Not any more noticeable than the one marked on the same date last month. Or the month before that.

But this one was different. This one was on a day that had come and gone. Four days ago. But that couldn't be right. She never missed it. Not even by a day. An hour or two, maybe. But never more than that. Never this long. Something had to have happened. She wasn't stressed. At least not enough for it to cause her to miss that date. Though keeping the huge secret she'd had for the past month could definitely be considered stressful. Especially for her.

“Hey, Hughes, you coming?” Travis's voice startled her. Vic slammed her locker shut.

“I'll be there in a minute.”

“That's what you said, like, five minutes ago,” he argued.

Vic pretended to smile. “Stop being so impatient, Montgomery.”

“I'm hungry. I'm allowed to be impatient when I'm hungry,” Travis implored.

“Let's go get you fed, then,” Vic said.

“Finally!” he let out. Vic laughed and followed him to the kitchen. She pushed that little red X to the back of her mind and joined the rest of the team at the table. It was Andy's first shift back since the storm, and she wanted everyone to have a meal together – including Sullivan. Vic was surprised he agreed. Yet there he sat at the head of the table where Captain Herrera used to sit.

Dinner was lighthearted if not awkward. Vic wasn't sure what had happened to Sullivan after he and Andy got into it in front of the station and the police department, but he finally seemed to be interested in them as people. At least, he seemed to be forcing himself to appear interested. Having an animated conversation with him was still awkward as hell.

It wasn't until after dinner that Vic remembered the little X on her calendar. She laid on her bunk and listed reasons for her to miss it. Stress could be a factor given her recent extracurricular activities. But surely keeping a secret – albeit one that could damage careers - wouldn't cause her to be late by four days. She wasn't sick. She felt perfectly fine despite a slight cough after her mask malfunctioned during a fire last shift. The medics and a doctor had cleared her.

Her mind finally focused on the most obvious reason that she absolutely refused to believe could be an option. She was responsible. She was safe. But she knew that wasn't a one hundred percent guarantee. Besides, had she really been responsible lately? Sex in the turnout room wasn't very responsible. Sleeping with the Fire Chief wasn't responsible. Yet she had. Several times. It was so damn good.

She'd promised herself she wouldn't regret it. She told Ripley she didn't regret any of it, that she made the choice openly. But now…well, now she wondered if she should have made that particular choice. She enjoyed it. Oh, man, did she enjoy it. Maybe too much. She willingly kept going back for more. And she might have enjoyed it one too many times.

The night was quiet. Too quiet for Vic. While the others were able to get some sleep, Vic was up all night with her mind running. She kept trying to think of other reasons for her body to be off, but that one possibility crept back in every time. By the end of shift, Vic was so stressed she turned down an invitation for breakfast with Travis and Grant. She needed to talk to someone, but it couldn't be Travis. Not this time.

She raced home and made a quick phone call on the way. Minutes after she arrived at her apartment, the doorbell rang. She opened it and breathed a small sigh of relief. “Jack, come in.”

“What's this about? You seem upset,” he pointed out as she closed the door.

Vic blurted out, “I think I might be pregnant.”

“Whoa,” Jack responded, stepping back. Then he asked, “Shouldn't you be talking to Ripley about this?”

“Are you crazy? I can't tell him!” she insisted with a shake of her head.

Jack hesitated before saying, “If you are, he'll kind of need to know. For two reasons, really. Wow.”

Vic strode across her living room before turning back to Jack. “I'm kind of going crazy, here. You're the only one I can talk to about this.”

“Thanks for that,” he huffed out. “What about Andy? Or Maya? Wouldn't they be better equipped to help you?”

“They don't know. They can't know.”

“You don't have to tell them who he is, do you?” Jack asked.

“They'll bug me until I tell them. They'll refuse to help. They'll threaten to tell him,” Vic threw out.

Jack shook his head. “I don't think they'll do any of that. And how would they tell him if they don't know who he is?”

Vic growled, “They won't tell the one responsible. They'll tell the Chief. You know, our boss.”

A chuckle escaped Jack, angering Vic even more. She headed for the door. “I don't even know why I thought I could talk to you about this. Any of it. And I swear to God, Gibson, if you say a word to anyone…”

“You'll tell the Chief?” he teased. Vic punched his chest with both fists. He rubbed the area with one hand and held out the other. “Okay, okay. I won't tell anyone.”

“Thank you.”

He stared at her a moment before asking, “Have you even taken a test yet?”

Vic felt her cheeks warm. “No.”

“Shouldn't that be the first step? You know, so you don't stress out over nothing?”

She hesitated, then offered an innocent grin. “You wouldn't want to buy me one, would you?”

He raised an eyebrow. “Yeah that wouldn't be weird.”

“Well, I can't take the chance of someone seeing me buying it,” Vic pointed out. Before Jack could reply, her phone rang. She picked it up and cursed. Then she ignored the call.

Jack asked, “Did you just ignore a call from the Chief?”

“We're not on duty. I don't have to answer it.”

“And if he's calling for…other reasons?”

Vic stared at her phone. It beeped, and a text popped up from Ripley. She didn't even read it but turned off the screen. She tossed it onto the couch, saying, “I can't talk to him right now.”

“You're going to have to at some point.”

“I know. I know. Just…not right now.”

Jack placed a hand on her shoulder and suggested, “Why don't I take you somewhere to get a test? We can go somewhere outside the city if you want.”

“You'd do that for me?” Vic asked. When Jack rolled his eyes, she added, “You might be okay after all, Gibson.”

“You might want to be nice to me, Hughes. I have a lot of blackmail material on you right now,” he said with a serious expression.

“You wouldn't.”

“Try me,” he responded, but then he grinned. Vic glared as she grabbed her phone and purse. Then she let him usher her out the door. They drove out of the city to the next town over. Despite her begging, Jack stayed in the car while Vic went into the small dollar store. She found the tests beside the feminine products she should be buying, grabbed one, and rushed to the register.

The young clerk didn't even flinch or seem to realize what Vic was purchasing. Perhaps she wasn't the only woman to make the secret trip to this particular store. Within minutes, Vic had paid and was back in the car. Jack looked over at her and asked, “Back to your place now?”

“Yeah,” she replied, not taking her eyes from the bag on her lap. The ride back to her apartment was silent. Thankfully Jack didn't try to make her talk. When they reached her apartment, she asked, “I know this is weird, but can you wait with me? I really don't want to be alone.”

He just nodded. Vic went straight to her bathroom and dumped the contents of the box onto the counter. She read the directions twice and then did what they said to do. Back in the living room, the message from Ripley caught her eye when she set the timer on her phone. She sat beside Jack on the couch and pulled up the message. Ripley wanted to have lunch. Vic sent a quick reply that she couldn't and set her phone beside her leg.

The timer went off, but Vic just stared at the screen. Jack reached over her to shut it off before saying, “You might as well get it over with.”

Vic nodded and stood. She made her way to the bathroom but stopped at the doorway. This was it. She would find out if this was why her period was now five days late. Sucking in a deep breath and holding it, she entered the small room. She picked up the test, and all of her air rushed out of her lungs. She stared at it as if trying to decide what she was actually seeing.

“Vic? What's it say?” Jack asked from the doorway. She held the test up for him to see. His eyebrows lifted, his eyes widening. “Okay, then. Now what?”

She shook her head. “I don't know. Do I take a second one?”

“Do you think it will have a different result?”

Vic sighed. She didn't know. A familiar beep echoed in the room. Jack held out her phone. Ripley had texted her again. Dinner, this time. She set her phone down before she threw it. “I can't be around him right now.”  
Jack picked up her phone. “I'll just tell him you have plans.”

“Thank you. For everything,” Vic said, leaning against the counter.

He shrugged. “It's what we do for family. Besides, it's not like I have much to do lately. I might as well be miserable with you.”

“Gee, thanks.”

“Anytime,” he replied with his trademark grin. Then he straightened and asked, “So besides hide out in your apartment, what are you going to do now?”

She thought about what her next step needed to be. Ripley needed to know, obviously. But she didn't want to tell him until she was absolutely sure. She had no idea how he would react to the news. As a man, anyway. As the chief – she knew exactly what he would do. He'd make her stand down for the next nine months. Desk duty, perhaps. But she couldn't do that. Not for nearly a year. So for now she would keep it to herself. And Gibson, of course. Yay for yet another secret.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Here comes the jealousy...

The next week thankfully kept Vic too busy to worry about her newest secret. Shifts were hectic. A cold front moved through the area and brought some ice with it, which meant a lot of downed power lines and people needing help. On her off days, Vic cleaned her entire apartment. She turned down offers to hang out. Being around her team on shift was hard enough.

And she managed to not see Ripley at all. When she did answer his calls, she kept the conversation short. She stuck to texting him as often as possible. She didn't want him to pick up on her odd behavior through her voice. Avoiding him made her feel bad. It wasn't like she wanted to stop seeing him completely. She just needed to confirm things before she could face him.

Jack proved to be an annoying ally. He checked on her daily, asking if she was sick yet, if she'd told Ripley, if she went to the doctor yet. Honestly, she was putting that last one off. She wasn't ready for it to be real. She wasn't ready for the confirmation that would mean both of her biggest secrets ever would come out. But when Jack came back to work once his own medical leave was over, he started bugging her even more.

She finally gave in when he cornered her in the bunk room. “You need to just rip off the band aid. Get it over with.”

“Fine! I'll call right now if you'll just leave me alone,” Vic told him. She picked up her phone and called her doctor. Jack stood in front of her the entire time she was on the line. Finally, she had an appointment scheduled and hung up. “Are you happy now?”

Sullivan called for lineup, so Jack just smiled and led her out of the room. They were the last two to join the line. When they entered the bay area, Jack hesitated just long enough to catch her attention. “Oh, shit.”

Vic looked up to find Ripley standing next to Sullivan. He watched her as she joined the lineup. Vic glanced toward Jack, who offered a sympathetic grimace. Then she faced forward but refused to meet the Chief's eyes. It took all she had to keep her hands at her sides and not place them over her abdomen. That would give her away for sure.

After what felt like forever, Ripley stepped forward and announced, “First of all, I want to welcome Gibson back. I trust you have everything worked out now.”

“Yes, Sir,” Jack responded. Vic’s gaze slid toward Ripley. He was staring at Jack but not smiling. Shouldn't he be happy that one of his firefighters was officially back on duty?

Ripley’s gaze flicked to her briefly before he moved on, “As you all know, Gibson's previous actions forced him to step down. Now, while I hope that he can reestablish his position eventually, his demotion opened up a Lieutenant's spot here at Nineteen. Today, I am officially announcing that the position will be filled by Lieutenant Bishop.”

Everybody cheered. Even Jack clapped. Vic broke lineup to hug her friend. Everyone hugged Maya. They wouldn't be losing part of their family, even if it did come from one of their own being demoted. Vic was upset for Jack but happy for Maya. When she stepped back, though, she noticed Jack off to the side. She walked up and looped an arm around his and said, “You'll get it back someday. This is just a setback for you.”

“I know,” he admitted. Then he looked at her and added, “I really am happy for Bishop, but it doesn't make it any easier to watch someone take my place.”

“Just look at it as starting over. You're all better now and back at work. Now you just have to win the Chief over again,” Vic told him.

Jack lowered his head and voice before saying, “I don't think that's going to be easy.”

Vic looked at where the Chief and Sullivan stood, talking. Ripley was staring at her and Jack with almost a scowl. She released Jack's arm and turned her back to her bosses. “That's probably directed at me. I've been avoiding him.”

“Still?” Jack asked. Vic nodded. He shook his head. “The sooner you tell him, the less angry he will be.”

“I will as soon as it's confirmed by a doctor,” Vic assured him.

“Good,” Jack said. The alarm went off for all of them, and everyone jumped into motion. Unfortunately, Vic had to pass right beside Ripley to get to her spot on the truck. She brushed against his arm – purely accidental – and forced a weak smile in his direction. He didn't even react. His face stayed blank. Vic swallowed her sudden feeling of dread and pulled herself into the truck. They definitely needed to talk. Soon.

But Ripley was gone when they arrived back at the station. Vic wasn't sure if she was more anxious or relieved. Really, the station wasn't the place to talk, anyway. Especially not about that. But now she had a new worry. Ripley was mad at her. But why? For avoiding him? She had been busy. For not answering his calls? It's not like they needed to talk to each other every day.

By the end of shift, Vic had herself so worked up she felt sick. Would Ripley even want to talk to her? Had she screwed everything up with him already? Well, yes, she had. But he didn't know that yet. She needed to make sure they were okay. Because if they weren't, then she was in bigger trouble than she thought.  
On her way out of the station, she texted him to see if they could meet for breakfast. She wanted to see him before she talked herself out of it. But he sent back a message that read, “Can't. How about dinner? I'll bring it.”

She could work with that. Maybe she could distract him if he started asking questions. He'd be off work for the day, so she could get some nighttime fun with him. Hopefully. Unless he was angry enough to break things off first. But surely he wouldn't offer to bring dinner if he planned to tell her they were over. Realizing she hadn't answered, she sent back a quick affirmative and rushed to catch Andy and Maya. A girls' day would keep her mind off of that evening and whatever would show up at her door.

Vic enjoyed her day with the girls. They did some shopping and had lunch. Andy convinced Vic and Maya to get pedicures. It was a great day off, and Vic's mind was too busy to worry. But eventually Maya said she needed to get home and get ready for a date. Her words reminded Vic of her own dinner plans. She told the girls goodbye and went home only to busy herself some more.

By the time her doorbell rang, Vic had cleaned her spotless kitchen, changed the bedding, and taken a shower. She answered the door wearing one of the sexy new dresses she bought that morning. The look in Ripley's eyes as he perused her body told her it'd been a good choice. Maybe she could keep him aroused enough to not ask questions. 

“Come on in,” she finally told him. He set two bags on her counter and glanced around the room.

“You've been busy in here. Not that you usually have a dirty kitchen, but it looks amazing,” he pointed out. His voice sounded off, but Vic couldn't quite figure out what was different.

She opened one of the bags and pulled out a takeout box. “Mmm, this smells so good.”

Ripley opened the second bag and took out a smaller box. “I got dessert, too. For later.”

Vic met his gaze. The same lust clouded his eyes that had been there the first time. Yeah, she was definitely going to have some adult fun that night. So she turned on the spicy Vic charm just a bit more. She used her lips to suck food off her fork. She gazed at Ripley every time she got a drink of her water. And he squirmed. A lot.

Until he threw his fork onto his plate and stood up. Vic watched as he stalked around the table toward her. Without a sound, he scooted her chair back, picked her up, and carried her out of the room. Neither made a sound until he tossed her onto her bed and climbed on top of her. His eyes sparkled as he said, “I'm done with the teasing. It's been way too long since I've had you to myself.”

She squealed. Then he kissed her. Vic let him lead and just enjoyed. She wasn't sure how much longer she could enjoy the way he touched her in just the right places. The way he gave her exactly what she needed. She did notice that something was different this time. Almost like he was hesitant but still gave in to what his body craved. It was still very much enjoyable. She just had to wonder if his anger was holding him back.

They were lying in each other's arms afterwards when he spoke quietly, “Are you happy, Vic?”

She kept her head on his chest so he couldn't see the fear and confusion. Once she was sure she could keep a smile on her face, she lifted her head and answered, “Of course I am. And I'll be even happier once I've had some of that dessert you brought.”

He grinned. Crisis averted. Vic slipped out of his arms and grabbed her panties from the floor. She pulled a t-shirt from a drawer instead of the dress again. Then she left the room before he even sat up. And she had the cake cut into two pieces and on two plates by the time he emerged. Vic eyed his bare chest and licked her lips. Damn he looked good.

He stepped up beside her and whispered, “Do I have to work for this cake?”

“I think you've already done the work, Chief,” she told him as she handed over a plate. He chuckled as he took it. Vic let out a long breath. They were flirting again. That meant they were good again. At least for now. For tonight. Vic would be okay with that.

She had just set her plate on the table when her phone beeped. She picked it up and laughed as she told Jack about her guest. But then he replied, “TELL HIM!”

Vic scrunched up her nose and shoved a bite of cake into her mouth. Of course Jack had to ruin her mood with that. She ate several more bites before she realized Ripley was watching her. With a mouth full of cake, she asked, “What?”

“Is something wrong?”

“No,” she said with a shake of her head.

“Then who texted you?”

“Gibson,” she told him, beginning to wonder where his questions were going. Something in his expression changed. He went back to eating his dessert in silence. This time Vic watched him. His smile wasn't there anymore. He didn't look at her but focused on his plate.

What had changed? They were good until her phone went off. But it was just Jack checking in on her again. Her teammate. Her friend. A thought occurred to Vic, and she inquired, “Are you jealous of Jack?”

Ripley's head snapped up. “Why would I need to be jealous?”

“You tell me.”

She stared at him. He stared at her. Then he stood and put his plate in the sink. He didn't look at her as he said, “I need to head out.”

Vic stood as well. “What? Why? I thought you were done with work for the day.”

“I am. I just need to get home.”

“Lucas,” she pleaded, moving in front of him. She placed a hand on his cheek to force him to look at her. “Stay with me tonight. We don't need to talk. We can turn our phones off. I've missed you. I want you to stay.”

He hesitated. That was a start. Vic slid her hand down to his chest. He placed a hand over hers and met her gaze. “I can't turn my phone off, but I can stay.”

Vic kissed him. She kissed him until he kissed her back. Then she slid her arms around his neck and teased his hairline with her fingers. His hands found her hips and pulled her against him. Vic mumbled against his lips, “Can we have a second dessert now?”

Ripley moaned and kissed her. Hard. She jumped up at the same time he lifted her thighs. With her legs wrapped around his waist, he carried her back to the one place they had no problems. Where they communicated without words. Where Vic wasn't even able to think about secrets or the future or what she needed to tell him. Where she could be happy if only for a little while.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The truth comes out.

Three days. Vic had not talked to Ripley in three days. No phone calls. No text messages. No late night visits or fun adult sleepovers. She was miserable. And grouchy. And horny.

She started to call him several times but always chickened out. Something had changed about him, but she didn't know what. Was he angry? Did he want it to end? Had he found someone else? That thought made her heart clench. She wasn't ready for it to be over. She didn't want to move on.

As she sat waiting for her doctor to return with her results, Vic thought of ways to tell Ripley. And ways he might respond. She didn't even know if he wanted kids. He'd been married twice and still didn't have any. What did that mean? Would he be happy to finally be a father? Or would he accuse her of trying to trick him? Surely he wouldn't think that of her.

The door opened, and Vic's anxiety levels rose. The doctor entered the room with a clipboard and a friendly smile. “Ms. Hughes, I have your results. You are not pregnant.”

“What? But the home test was positive!” Vic stated. How could one say yes but one say no? And why did she completely miss a period? This didn't make sense.

“Have you had any other symptoms?”

Vic shook her head. “No.”

The doctor checked her clipboard. “There doesn't seem to be anything going on. Honestly, sometimes our bodies just do things differently for no reason at all.”

“Mine never does.”

“I'm sorry, Victoria. I wish I had better news for you,” the doctor told her with a sympathetic smile. Vic offered one in return. Wasn't this good news? She didn't have to tell Ripley anything. She didn't have an extra secret anymore. They could go back to the fun, casual way things were. At least, she hoped so.

She left the doctor's office and dialed Jack's number on her way to the car. He answered before the second ring, “Is something wrong?”

“Umm, no,” she managed. “I just left the doctor.”

“And?”

Vic sucked in a breath and exhaled as she told him, “I'm not actually pregnant.”

Jack was quiet for a moment. She was in her car before he asked, “What about the test you took?”

“False positive.”

“Oh,” was his reply. Then, “This is good, though. Right?”

“Yeah. Yes. It is,” she assured herself as well as him.

“You didn't want to be, did you?”

The question caught her by surprise. It wasn't planned, but had she wanted it? Being pregnant, having a child, the Chief's child, would ruin her career. Change her life forever. Did she want that? She'd been okay with it. Accepted that it was true. But now that she knew it wasn't…how did she feel?

“Vic? Are you still there?”

“I'm here,” she answered. “I don't know what I want. I don't know how to feel.”

“You want me to come over?”

Vic smiled. Jack really could be a good friend. “I think I need to be alone for a while. Process everything.”

They hung up, and she drove home. She could spend the rest of the day alone, dealing with everything. Figure out what to tell Ripley, if she told him anything. Did she need to? Was there anything to tell him if she wasn't actually pregnant? Why worry him if he didn't need to?

She parked her car and walked up to her apartment. And stopped several feet from her door. Ripley leaned against the wall, his head down and hands in his pockets. He looked…defeated. Vulnerable. Nothing like the Chief she'd come to know. She carefully moved toward him.

“Lucas?” she spoke quietly. He lifted his head. Vic gasped. His eyes were dull, not the bright blue that had first attracted her. And they were rimmed in redness. He'd either been crying or not sleeping. Vic didn't like the thought of him suffering like that. “What’s wrong?”

He cleared his throat and lowered his head again. “Can I come in?”

“Of course!” she replied. She unlocked the door, and he followed her inside. Vic set her purse down but didn't say anything. She just waited for him to say what he clearly needed to say.

“I'm sorry to stop by like this,” he said. “I just needed to see you. I need to tell you how much I miss you.”

Vic felt tears well up in her eyes. She walked right up to him and rested a hand on his chest. “I've missed you, too. You must've been busy. Is everything okay with the department?”

He leaned away from her, confusion crowding in on the sadness. “The department is fine as far as I know. And I wish I could've kept myself busy. Maybe I wouldn't be so miserable.”

Now Vic was confused. “Then why didn't you call? Or come over?”

“Why would I do that?”

She took two steps back and stared at him. What in the world was going on? She hesitantly asked, “Why wouldn't you?”

Ripley shook his head. “I didn't think you wanted me to.”

“Where the hell did you get that idea?” Vic blurted out.

His eyes widened. He started sputtering much like she once did around him. “I thought – you changed - you didn't- oh, hell. I thought we were over.”

Vic's heart broke. He'd left her. That's why he quit calling. Quit texting. He ghosted her. Not even an explanation. And here she'd been trying to figure out how to tell him they were going to have a baby. At least she didn't have that to worry about now. “Thank God.”

“What?”

Oops. She said that out loud. “Nothing. So, why didn't you bother telling me? At least give me an excuse? I mean, after one or two nights is one thing. But to ghost me after a month-and-a-half? That's cold. Colder than I thought you were capable of. But I guess I didn't know you as well as I thought I did.”

“What are you talking about?” Ripley cut into her rambling. “What is ghosting?”

She let out a short laugh. “It's when someone stops talking to you without even telling you they don't want to see you anymore. It usually happens at the beginning of a relationship, but I guess it could happen any time one decides they're done.”

“I didn't do that to you.”

Vic raised an eyebrow at him. He pretended to look confused, but she wasn't going to fall for it. “That's exactly what you did. It only lasted three days, but you still did it. It still hurts the same.”

“I hurt you?” he asked, his voice sounding so weak Vic hesitated to respond. He was either really good at acting or something else was going on. “I didn't mean to hurt you.”

“Well, you did,” she said before thinking. His gaze met hers. His eyes didn't lie. He was miserable. Perhaps as miserable as she'd been. She breathed in deep and let it out slowly. “Why did you think our…relationship was over?”

“You stopped answering my calls and wanting to spend time together. You were avoiding me. And then I saw…” he trailed off and shut down.

“Saw what?” Vic prodded, shame building.

Ripley shook his head again. “It doesn't matter. I won't force you. I can't, really. I'll just leave. We can pretend none of this happened whenever we have to work together.”

“What if I don't want that?”

He paused halfway toward the door and looked at her. “What do you want then?”

“You.”

“But I thought –"

“I don't know what I did to make you think I don't want you anymore, but that's just not true,” Vic started. “I've enjoyed the last month more than any of my previous relationships. I'm not even supposed to like you, but I can't help it. You're infuriating and sweet. Caring. Good at your job. And damn good in bed. I can't seem to get enough of you. Not being able to tell anybody is driving me crazy, but I don't want to risk not being able to see you either.”

She sucked in a deep breath. That was a lot even for her. Ripley stood still, watching her. Vic waited. He finally spoke barely above a whisper. “What about Gibson?”

“What does he have to do with us?”

“I saw you with him. At the station. And he kept texting you every single time we were together.”

The pieces clicked. Vic shook her head vehemently. “No. There's never been anything between me and Gibson. He was…helping me with something.”

Ripley's eyes brightened just a bit. “Helping you? With what? I mean, why didn't you come to me?”

“You were the last person I could go to,” she said before thinking. Hurt flashed in his eyes. She had to tell him now. “I thought I was pregnant.”

“You what?” he practically screamed.

Vic swallowed hard. “I was late. I'm never late. And nothing else was going on, so it made sense…”

“I should've been the first person you went to.”

“I couldn't do that. Not until I knew for sure.”

“Why?”

Vic threw her hands out toward him. “Because you're the Chief! You're my Chief!”

“I'm also your boyfriend,” he stated. Vic stopped. It was the first time that label had been mentioned. Ripley moved toward her and spoke softly, “From now on, come to me. Don't hide things from me, especially something like that. Let me be there with you, for you.”

“I-I didn't want to worry you. Make you do something stupid before I even knew for sure there was a reason to worry,” she told him.

He placed his hands on her shoulders and said, “I did do something stupid. I stayed away from you. For three days.”

“Yeah let's never do that again.”

“Don't plan to,” he agreed. He lowered his head toward hers but stopped before their lips met. He pulled back and added, “One more thing. Why did you go to Gibson of all people?”

Vic shrugged. “I didn't know who else to go to.”

“Did you tell him who might have gotten you pregnant?” he asked, a hint of fear in his voice.

“I didn't need to.”

Ripley leaned back. “Why?”

She lowered her head and confessed, “He already knew. He found out after that first night.”

Laughter erupted. Vic looked up to see Ripley’s eyes shining. She asked, “What's so funny?”

“We were being so secretive, so careful. Well, mostly. And someone from your station already knew,” he said. Vic smiled. It was amusing how worried they'd both been.

She was so happy to see the sparkle back in his eyes. So happy to have him back in her apartment. In her life. Vic left his arms and went into the kitchen. She got out a bottle of wine and two glasses. When she turned around, Lucas stood in the doorway. “Just to be clear, you're not pregnant, right?”

“Nope.”

“Good,” he said and accepted a glass. “I mean, for now. This early.”

Vic sipped her wine before saying, “So you'd be okay with me being pregnant. In the future.”

His grin turned into a smirk. “Sure. Why not? In the future.”

She'd just taken a sip when her phone went off. She unlocked it and laughed, then showed the screen to Ripley. Jack was checking up on her again. Vic pulled her phone back. “I'll tell him to stop.”

“Let me,” he said. Vic handed over her phone. She watched him type and then hit Send. He handed it back to her with a satisfied smile. Vic looked at the screen and smiled. He'd sent, “You can stop checking in. I've got her now – Ripley."

Another message appeared from Jack that just showed a thumbs up emoji. Vic turned the screen off and picked up her glass once more. She grinned up at Ripley. “So you've got me now, huh?”

“Oh, yeah,” he told her. He moved right in front of her and took the glass from her hand, setting it on the counter. “You're mine. I'm not leaving you again.”

“That's for damn sure. Now kiss me,” she demanded in the tone she knew he couldn't resist. It worked. He kissed her like he'd never kissed her before. And she loved it.


End file.
